We're in This Together
by snake eyes and sissies
Summary: Sequel to A Better Place and Time. Ichabod Crane ends up in modern times.


**A/N: This is the sequel to "A Better Place and Time". Thanks to Dionne Dance for her help with this.**

Ch. 1

Pain. As consciousness invaded his body, he winced at the spasms going through his neck and shoulder. He moved to squeeze the cramping muscle and encountered an elbow that was putting very sharp pressure at the top of his collarbone. Well, that explained a lot.

Ichabod gently shifted out from under Angie's arm and rubbed his shoulder. How did her elbow land there? He dimly remembered them collapsing against the headboard to watch the news after returning from Christmas dinner with Carla. They were both going to be sore. Ichabod was torn between letting Angie sleep and waking her up to get out of that contorted position.

He decided to compromise. He'd let her sleep a little longer while a hot shower relaxed his shoulder, and then wake her. Oh how he loved hot showers. Of all the modern conveniences he'd discovered in the past 8 months, hot showers were the best. And such a good place to sort out your thoughts.

Ichabod Crane had a lot of thoughts to sort out. His life had been a blur of constant change since that strange blue light had brought him into the modern world from the 18th century. So many new experiences and not all of them exclusive to this time period.

He was so grateful that Angela and her estranged husband, Steve, had given him a home and helped him try to integrate into a new life. That had been his sole aim for so long. But since realizing that Steve was unfaithful, was hurting Angie, Ichabod's focus had changed.

He sighed as the hot water hit the back of his neck. If he was honest with himself, he'd have to admit that he had been in love with Angie from the minute he opened his eyes to find her stroking his hair and soothing his head with a compress. He could remember the feeling of her wavy black hair touching his face as she leaned over him.

He had tried to keep his distance, out of respect for her marriage to Steve. Not to mention the fear of embarrassing himself, a schoolboy crush on a married woman. Women never paid attention to him. But it was difficult; she always seemed to be comforting him.

And then he had met Jane. She had been so forward. Ichabod knew times were different, but had trouble figuring out what was socially appropriate in this time period. Jane…she had made him feel so desperate for human contact and affection. He scoffed at himself. After experiencing the love and affection of friends over the holiday, he realized than Jane was self serving and had not really cared about him. He felt foolish for thinking he had offered to marry her.

Thinking about Jane made him feel a little sad. He had enjoyed his brief, anxiety ridden sexual experience with her. He missed that, the sex, not the anxiety. In a perfect world, he would have love, affection, friendship, acceptance, and sex. Hmmm, that sounded like his relationship with Angie except for the sex. He blushed just thinking about it. How did he let her know that he wanted to be more than just a friend? What if she didn't feel the same way?

He shuddered when he remembered the kiss she had given him on Christmas Eve. He knew she only did it to make fun of Enzo. He huffed at himself. It was just unfair. He wanted that kiss to be real. He wanted to press her closer and…. "Stop that!" he scolded himself. Ichabod decided to save some hot water for Angie and finished his shower.

He grabbed a towel and his thoughts raced on. When was it appropriate to move the relationship forward? Now? How would he know when she was ready? Or was there a set time period after the divorce was final? Divorces were uncommon in his time. Who could he even ask? No one he was close to knew about his past except Angie and Steve, and how could he ask them?

He wished he could find a way to talk to Carla about it. She was so understanding. Hmm. Angie had said something about his family being missionaries. He smirked to himself. He wondered what she'd think when she discovered that his father had been a minister. Angie had made it sound like missionaries were out of touch with the modern world. Maybe he could use that as an excuse to talk to Carla. She already knew he had feelings for Angie.

He dressed quickly and stepped into the other room to see Angie was still sound asleep. An evil thought crossed his mind.

He jerked all of the blankets off the bed and pulled her upright. "Wake up, sleeping beauty. Our new home awaits!"

Angie curled into a fetal position, growling at him and snatching at thin air for the blankets.

"Come on, Angie. Wakey, wakey. Carla. 45 minutes. Apartments. Remember?"

00

After touring the three units Carla had available, Ichabod and Angie were leaning towards a two bedroom unit on the 10th floor. It had a large living room, a galley kitchen, and a large bathroom. Being a corner unit, it was bright and cheery. The large windows offered lots of natural light, and the kitchen, though small, had a decent view.

"I think this is the one," Angie said, as she inspected the kitchen appliances.

"I agree," Ichabod added. "It's lovely."

"Great!" Carla smiled at them. "From what Angie said, it's well within your budget too. You can move in as soon as it's repainted."

"Hmm." Ichabod studied the walls. The paint was slightly chipped in some places, but it wasn't overly noticeable. "I'd be willing to move in sooner and skip the painting, if it was alright with Angie." He knew Angie was going stir crazy where they were, and wanted to get her settled as quickly as possible.

Angie looked around. "It's really not that bad. I'd be fine with that, too." She smiled at Ichabod, grateful that he had come up with a way to get them out of that hotel faster.

Carla smiled, "Alright. You've got a deal. You can move in whenever you want, just, no complaints until after the first, okay?"

"No problem!" Angie replied. "Thank you!"

"Of course. We can go sign the papers now if you want."

As they walked down the hallway towards the elevator, Enzo spoke up for the first time all morning.

"So, Carla, you know that one bedroom unit? If you're open to renting it to me, that would be great."

Carla stopped walking.

"Why? Aren't you going back to DC?"

"Yeah, about that. I got a call from Father Carlson at St. Thomas School. They're looking for a new gym teacher, and he wanted me to drop by for a talk while I was here for the holidays. I wasn't really interested but considering all that's happened recently… Maybe moving back to New York would be a good idea."

"Seriously?!" Angie asked. "You're coming home?!"

"If I get the job, then yes."

Angie couldn't contain her excitement. Not only were she and Ichabod getting a fresh start together, but her brother was coming back as well!

She pulled Enzo into a big hug, and then did the same with Ichabod and Carla. She couldn't believe how much had changed for the better, and just since the beginning of Christmas break. Maybe things would work out after all.

"Ok!" Angie said, looking at Enzo with a mischievous grin, "Now you get to help me figure out how to break the news to mom and dad!"

Enzo's expression froze. Yeah, that was going to be fun. He smiled back at her, shaking his head in disbelief. But he was just glad to see her so happy. Yeah, he'd help her out, keep an eye on her. That's what big brothers are for.


End file.
